Queen of the Labyrinth
by Saiyaness28
Summary: My unique retelling of the Minotaur myth. There is a part of the myth that has never been told. The tale of the Minotaur's young bride, Ioannia, queen of the labyrinth. Her's is a tragic tale that you can only read here. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Queen of the Labyrinth

Ch. 1: Stolen

Ioannia looked out at the blue-green sea, listening to the violent crashing of the waves upon the rocky shore. Her long, dark hair flowed with the sea breeze as she gazed out of her window at the vast water. How she longed for an adventure beyond her home city of Athens. Little did she know, the gods were about to grant her wish in the most unusual way.

"Lady Ioannia, your father wishes to speak with you immediately." said her servant as she burst into the room, a look of dread on her face. "Thank you, Mariana." said Ioannia, gently rising to her feet. She walked down the halls of her father's grand house, to the banquet hall where she was confident he would be. There she found not only her father, but several other young men. They all stared at her as she entered, her head held proudly high, her steps soft and sure. "Yes father?" asked Ioannia, she hadn't the foggiest idea what he wanted. She noticed that every man in the room, especially her father, was dripping in sweat and fidgeting with nervousness. "Is something wrong?" she asked, now quite concerned. "Daughter, tomorrow, marks the ninth year since the Minotaur's last sacrifice. Cretan soldiers will be arriving tomorrow and they will take fourteen virgins to Minos' wicked labyrinth to be fed to the Minotaur. My dear child, I cannot allow them to take you. Please, choose one of these suitors so that you may be wedded before they arrive." She stared at her father as if he'd gone mad, "But father, I do not know these men. How can I marry one of them?" He grabbed her hands and fell to his knees. Pathetic sobbing shook his narrow chest. "You must! You must! I could not bare it if they took you away! My blessed daughter!" He cried in absolute sorrow. She wrapped her arms around her father's quivering form and held him tightly against her, "I am sorry, father, but if I marry then I can never serve Athena in her temple. Surely the soldiers will spare me if you explain to them that I am soon to be a priestess of Athena. Surely they will not risk the wrath of a goddess of war." This only made him cry harder. "No! No! The Cretans are cruel, heartless men! They will not spare you! They will feed you to the bull! I know they will!" She tried to comfort him, but to no avail. The suitors went home and she had the servants put her elderly father to bed.

It was late, but she was not tired. Instead, she took a stroll along the sea shore. Her sea foam colored dress billowed in the wind. As her dainty feet splashed through the waves, she could not help but wonder, would the Cretans take her to the Minotaur's Labyrinth? She prayed to Athena that they would not. She could not bare the thought of being separated from her father. Her brother had died in battle only two years ago and her mother died giving birth to her. He was still in mourning for them both. Ioannia feared that he would not be able to survive the pain of losing her as well. She still remembered the last time the Cretans came for their sacrifices. She had been only nine at the time. There had been a lot of screaming and crying that day, a lot of sorrow. She was not looking forward to waking to the anguished cries of mothers and fathers in the morning. Still she could not help but imagine what the Labyrinth and it's monstrous warden must look like. She envision halls upon winding halls of white marble and a man with a bull's head that stalked the dark corridors looking for a wondering prisoner, ready to skewer them on his sharp curved horns and devour them. What a horrible end!

Just as she had feared, Ioannia awoke to the wailing of mothers and fathers as their beloved sons and daughters were dragged away from their houses. From within her own house she could plainly hear the harsh voices of men arguing. Were soldiers in her house? She quickly dressed and ran to the banquet hall. Three soldiers were yelling at her father. Asking the old man where his virgin daughter was hiding. "She is not hiding. She is right here." Ioannia announced. She held her head up proudly, her sharp sea green eyes never faltering. "I demand you leave my father's house immediately"! She ordered in a strong, demanding voice. The three men snickered at her, laughing at her arrogance. "Oh the Minotaur will have fun with this one." chuckled the leader. He snatched her by the wrist and started to drag her from the house. "Stop it! You cannot take me! I am training to be a priestess of Athena!" she protested. The men did not listen. The leader held her hands behind her back in his strong grip and though she kicked and bucked with all her might, she could not break free. "Father!" she screamed as she was dragged from the house. "I'm sorry." she added in a whisper. Her last sight of him was of his quivering form, crumpled on the floor.

The Cretans dragged Ionnia and thirteen other Athenian youths to their awaiting ship. They were thrown into it's bowels and shackled to the walls. All around her were the terrified screams of the men and women who were to be sacrificed along with her. Though they were loud enough to make her ears bleed, she barely heard them. How stupid she had been! She should have done as her father asked and married one of the suitors. She may have been trapped in a loveless marriage, but at least she would not be here, awaiting a gruesome death in Crete's impossible maze. Silently she mouthed a prayer to the gods, asking for their mercy, begging for a miracle that would save them from the Minotaur's Labyrinth.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2: Unsolvable

For seven days and nights, the ship sailed for Crete. Ioannia had always wanted to sail upon the open seas, but this was not exactly what she had imagined. The waves were violent. They tossed the massive ship as if it were a toy. Everyone within the vessel was now ill from the constant motion. The crying and screaming the others had done when they were first thrown into the ship had ceased within that first day. There was no point in screaming. They would get no mercy from the Cretans. None whatsoever.

Finally, on the eighth day, the Cretans' ship came ashore. One by one, they were forced out of the ship onto the island's rocky shore. The soldiers made them line up, single file, and were led to an opening in the side of a cave. Ioannnia stood near the back of the line. The girl in front of her was shivering with fright. She placed her hand comfortingly on her shoulder, "Calm yourself. They say that if you solve the Labyrinth, then the Cretans will let you go. You will not be able to think properly if you are panicking". The girl shook her head, tears splashing on the shackles about her wrists. "That is a lie. The Labyrinth is unsolvable". Ioannia frowned at the girl, "Every riddle, no matter how impossible it may seem, is solvable". The girl ignored her words.

The opening to the cave was barred shut with an iron gate. Slowly, it lifted and the sacrifices were pushed into the labyrinth, that had been carved into the very mountain. As soon as the last person was inside, the gate slammed down again, leaving Ioannia and the other Athenians in pitch black darkness, only small beams of light streamed through the iron gate. The teens began to scream and fumble around, panicking in their desperation for deliverance. Ioannia, however, stayed perfectly silent. Quietly and quickly, she moved away from the group. For she knew that their screaming would only draw the Minotaur's attention.

Slowly, she made her way through the winding halls of stone. It was too dark to see anything, so she clung to the wall by her side and felt her way through the maze. She moved excruciatingly slowly, stepping lightly on her feet. The narrow passageways made echoes easily. Every footstep was as loud as a marching army. No doubt, that was how the Minotaur found his victims. Simply listening. She could still hear the others, screaming, stumbling, crying out to the gods. Fools. They would only lead the monster to them. If she could just find the exit, she would be free. She was sure of it. There was a cool breeze and she could smell the saltiness of the ocean. There had to be an exit. Then, Ioannia heard the sound of gears cranking, as if a gate were opening somewhere in the Labyrinth. Ioannia did not stop, but picked up the pace. She knew that that sound only meant one thing. They were releasing the Minotaur.

Ioannia walked for hours upon hours, through the maze. Her legs and feet ached and her heart was beating so rapidly it felt like it would burst at any moment. She was tired. She had not slept in two whole days and now her eyes threatened to close on her. The only thing that kept her going were the screams she heard every few minutes. It was not like before, they were not screams of fear. They were screams of agony. Whenever she heard one these screams she would move further away from it's origin. However, in this maddening place, it is easy to become disoriented. After the tenth hour, she could no longer place where the screams where coming from or whether or not she was moving away from or towards it. She soon realized that she had made an error along the way.

She turned onto another long hallway, to find it littered with bodies. She stepped lightly over them, picking up the skirts of her dress to keep it's him from trailing in the pools of blood. Even though it was a horrible scene, Ioannia was a bit surprised at how clean these killings had been. They looked more like casualties of war that victims of a man eating monster. Most surprising of all was that not one had been bitten or mauled. She could tell by the wounds, that most of them had been killed with a sword or other sharp object. Curious. Why would a beast such as the Minotaur kill with a sword? And why hadn't he eaten them? Was he not supposed to be a man eater?

Suddenly, a loud snort echoed through the Labyrinth. Ioannia looked up to see none other than the Minotaur himself staggering away. He was exactly as the rumors said. A man with the head of a bull. Dark fur covered the bulls head, neck and shoulders, but ended there. From his head, grew two very sharp horns. He was a very large man, impossibly large. Nearly eight feet tall. He could easily crush a human in just one hand, and yet he used a weapon? In one of his massive hands he held a blade, still dripping with blood.

The Minotaur was moving in the opposite direction, so she knew he had not seen her. Curious, she began to follow him. Hoping that perhaps he could lead her to the exit. She stayed far enough away from him that she could not be easily seen in his peripheral vision. Just as before, each step was carefully made so that he would not hear it. As she followed and watched him, it became more and more obvious that he was exhausted. He staggered on his feet. She could hear his heavy breathing. Once he stopped and leaned his massive body against a wall for a bit of a rest. "Thirteen. Just one more, and this wretched night will be over." She heard a man's booming voice say. It startled her, for she was certain it had come from the Minotaur himself, but how could a beast talk like a man? It seemed so absurd.

Perhaps she had made a mistake by following the Minotaur. It felt as if he were taking her deeper and deeper into the Labyrinth, not out of it. As they walked, he became more and more talkative. She no longer doubted her sanity when she heard the powerful voice, for sometimes he would move his head enough that she could see his bull's lips move as he spoke. He spoke of nothing in particular, just ramblings about how frustrated he was, that he could not find one measly girl. He knew that he must be looking for a woman, for they always took seven males and seven females for sacrifice and so far he had counted only six females and seven males. As the hours passed, he got angrier and angrier. Finally, he snapped. "Where are you, you damned girl!" He roared. It was more of a bull's bellow, than a roar. He slammed his fist against a wall and a deep crack shot through the stone where his fist had connected with it. Ioannia felt a little sorry for him. He was so tired. She could see his legs shaking even from where she stood. He didn't seem like the monster everyone feared. So far as she could tell, he did not eat the humans that were sacrificed to him, nor did he torture or take pleasure in the actual killing. He acted as if he just wanted to get it over with, as if it were a chore. Against all better judgment, Ioannia decided to let her presence known.

"Am I the one you are looking for, Minotaur?" She asked, standing straight and tall. He whirled around, his eyes wild. He stared at her, steamy breath escaping his nostrils, his sword clinched in his fist. "Well?" she asked, surprised by his hesitation. "I know you can understand me. I've been listening to you talking to yourself for hours now." He snorted in response. He straightened himself and stalked towards her. The echo of his heavy footsteps pounded in her ears. "You've been following me? Are you mad?" The Minotaur sounded shocked by her bold actions. She nodded. "And through watching you, I have learned a few things. You do not eat human flesh or rip your victims apart as they say you do. I don't think you even enjoy killing these innocent people they throw down here for you. You tire easily and you are actually quite intelligent. You don't really want to kill me, so why don't you let me go." The Minotaur's very human looking brown eyes narrowed, "I can't do that. The guards will know that I have missed one, if they find only thirteen bodies." "Then just show me the exit. If I solve the Labyrinth, they will have to let me go." It was hard to tell, but she thought she saw the Minotaur's lips form a smirk at her request. "Fine. I will take you to the exit, but you may not like what you find there. Come now, we are running out of time." His warning, disturbed her, but she stayed confident, that the Labyrinth could be solved.

Even in the constant darkness, he was easy to follow. His shier mass, was impossible to ignore. After two more hours of wandering, they finally arrived at the end of the Labyrinth. It was not as she had hoped. The exit, just like the opening, was barred shut with a heavy iron gate. She ran at the gate and pounded her fists against it. "No! No! This isn't fair! I found the end! Let me out!" She screamed, tears of devastation falling from her eyes. She fell to her knees, now feeling every second of her long and strenuous journey.

The Minotaur could not help but pity the girl before him. She had been his most challenging prey yet. She had pushed him beyond the boundaries of his stamina. And at the very end, she had made him feel like the hunted rather than the hunter. Softly he spoke, "This place was never meant to be escaped." "I have to get out. I have to return to my father." she croaked. The Minotaur shook his big head at her sadly.

He watched her silently as she wept for her father. When he felt that she had calmed down enough, he sheathed his sword and extended his hand. "Come with me. The guards will be down here soon to retrieve the bodies. If they find you, they will kill you." Hesitantly, she took his hand. "You're not going to kill me?" she asked, wiping her eyes. "No. You have bested me and solved my Labyrinth. You have won your life." He said, bowing his giant head a little in respect.


End file.
